This week in PR (25 November)
FIFA World Cup
- Louie Benjamin: The World Cup has kicked off…in more ways than one (22 November)
‘Although a World Cup has historically been a joyous occasion encouraging a nation to unite, it seems this one is causing nothing but division with some fans stating they won’t be watching it all.’ - Danny Rogers: Glass half-full or half-empty: Will the World Cup prove to be a PR disaster? [free registration required] (20 November)
‘It is noticeable how much worse the public criticism is of this World Cup host, a political ally of the West, than the previous host, Russia, in 2018 – a country not exactly renowned for liberalism and tolerance. Indeed, Russia and China have hosted Olympics in the past couple of decades without the ire aimed at diminutive Qatar.’
https://twitter.com/stuartbruce/status/1595035836336177152
Profession
PRCA appoints team led by Professor Chris Bones to lead governance review.
➡️Find out more: https://t.co/Q2bxVvGfrL pic.twitter.com/XPGz7LfhXp
— PRCA (@PRCA_HQ) November 22, 2022
Purpose, climate and ESG
- Sarah Waddington: Jon Geldart “The pale, male and stale days of the IOD are over” [podcast] (no date)
‘The IoD was set up to improve British leadership. What leaders need is to improve the quality of their decision making, and they need to feel they’re doing the right thing.’ - Andrew Adie: COP27 – what next? (22 November)
‘UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres commented that: “Our planet is still in the emergency room. We need to drastically reduce emissions now and this is an issue this COP did not address.”’ - Maja Pawinska Sims: John Brown on COP27 and climate crisis communications [podcast] (no date)
‘I’ve always been a pain in the arse; I’ve always had a distaste for unchecked power. That’s where the activism side of it comes from. In terms of environmentalism, it’s what I studied at uni.’
Consulting, skills and careers
PR leaders remaining bullish about profitability despite everything: key findings here of the 2022-2023 @ICCOpr World PR Report with @SapioResearch and @Provoke_News, always a real bellwether for the industry. https://t.co/89G8DZUQvC
— Maja Pawinska Sims (@SparklyPinchy) November 23, 2022
- Ben Smith: Victoria Dean, chief executive officer of Portland, on the PRmoment podcast (22 November)
‘Diplomacy is PR. The job [in the Foreign Office] is to represent Britain. It’s a bit like a PR agency with one client – Britain.’ - The PR Cavalry: The ABC+ Method for Finding More Freelance PR Work (no date)
‘The research shows that weak ties are your best source of new work. They are characterised by you sharing some meaningful cultural or professional interest, but not a valuable emotional bond to be risked.’ - Alex Bigg: Welcome to MHP Group (21 November)
‘The Networked Age is a connected world, and a connected world demands integrated thinking. That is what MHP Group exists to deliver. We use behavioural science to develop better answers for our clients.’
Gender, diversity and wellbeing
- Katie de Cozar: It’s time to talk: Why better communication betwen agency and in-house PR professionals can improve mental health (no date)
‘We ran research with Coleman Parkes across 2000 comms professionals a few months back, to understand the state of play around mental health. What we learned is that one in two have experienced burnout in the last 12 months, which is three times on average every year. These figures are far too high.’
Public and third sectors
- Darren Caveney: The #UnAwards22 – your guide to the big day (24 November)
‘The UnAwards is my own way of giving a little bit back to an industry which has been very good to me. I take huge pride and pleasure in being able to take a decent chunk of time out each year, away from the day-to-day consultancy work, to organise the UnAwards and to help fly a flag – in my own small way – for our communications community.’ - Mark Fletcher-Brown: In a crisis, keep your eye on the confidence score (22 November)
‘Identifying why people are confident in your leaders and your organisation will enable you prioritise the actions that will help to maintain it in a crisis. It’s why heartfelt apologies can help shore up confidence: people expect it and are disappointed when one is not made.’
Politics, public affairs and public sphere
https://twitter.com/JRGerlis/status/1595711347286851584
- Fraser Raleigh: Supreme Court forces SNP to turn to Plan B (24 November)
‘Yesterday’s Supreme Court verdict that the Scottish Parliament cannot unilaterally legislate for an independence referendum dealt a significant blow to nationalists, who must now find another way to push their cause.’ - Rachel Groves: RMT Strikes Out at Christmas (24 November)
‘In the wake of the latest RMT strike announcements, the red tops have hailed the RMT leader Mick Lynch ‘Mick Grinch’, ‘the man who is stealing Christmas’.’
- Beth Tarling: Brexit battles resurface as labour shortage looms large (22 November)
‘The question remains, then, about how Rishi proposes to fix the country’s labour shortage. Despite the UK falling into recession, job vacancies are high at over 1.2 million, and the current Brexit deal inevitably creates barriers for foreign workers to easily work in the UK.’
Brands, content, community and creativity
- Emma Drake: Are you being efficient with what you have? [podcast] (24 November)
‘Content repurposing can help us make the most of our investment in content creation. It’s the process of taking original content and repurposing it for another format.’
Research, data, measurement and evaluation
- Andy Green: New tool transforms measurement practice launched for Measurement Month (23 November)
‘We need to talk beyond just measurement and evaluation, to also include iteration.’
Crisis, risk and reputation
- Stuart Thomson: Nothing Stays Secret Forever [podcast] (21 November)
‘Changing expectations brings a new set of rules. If you ignore these rules, you risk your reputation. Rule one: nothing stays secret forever.’
Behaviour and influence
- Scott Guthrie: Lydia Millen – tone deaf or in tune with her audience? (24 November)
‘This week Lydia Millen, fashion, fitness, and lifestyle influencer got into hot water – over cold water.’
Internal communication
Turns out ‘go hard or go home’ is not a great way to motivate your people. pic.twitter.com/cabgATMzKL
— Alli (@AlliHayman) November 18, 2022
- Virginia Hicks: A look back at 15 years of IC recruitment (21 November)
‘The last 15 years has been immense in the world of internal communications, particularly in the last two years, with COVID, lockdown, hybrid working, the focus on wellbeing and D&I and rapid digitalisation, which have tested the resilience of even the best leaders.’ - Calm Edged Rebels: The lost art of conversation [podcast] (18 November)
‘We spend a lot of time on email, text and social media. We no longer talk to each other and have proper conversations. You can’t change the world without conversation.’
Media, digital and technology
https://twitter.com/10Yetis/status/1595779003226664961
- Nicole Mezzasalma: Let’s get tootin’! A guide to getting started on Mastodon (23 November)
‘Content moderation concerns and issues surrounding impersonation and verification [on Twitter] have left many looking for credible alternatives. Enter Mastodon.’
- Antonia Welch: Top tips for getting a broadcast interview right (23 November)
‘What do you need to know before you go into the lion’s den? Here are my top tips for helping you get a broadcast interview right.’
- Tom Flynn: Latest Twitter news: Musk’s takeover, bots & Trump’s return? (22 November)
‘Bots continue to be a problem. Prior to his purchase, Musk claimed that Twitter likely had many more bots than the claimed 5% of accounts. Whilst he has made tackling the bot problem a priority, very little progress has been made so far – and Musk himself acknowledged that his Trump poll was influenced by bots.’
- Ben Capper: How to: Successfully manage a video project (22 November)
‘I always err on the side of caution and get signed consent for everyone you intend to appear in your video, whether they’re an employee or a member of the public; so before we arrive on location, we’ll need a copy of your organisation’s photo and video consent form.’ - Drew Benvie: Twitter was journalism’s beating heart. So what next? (19 November)
‘The future of Twitter appears to be hanging in the balance, but one thing’s for certain: journalists have seen the power of direct access to readers, listeners, viewers and brands. They will move to the best social networks that allow them to continue in Twitter’s footsteps, so it’s every PR person’s opportunity now to experiment early whilst new networks are innovating.’
Academic, education and training
My grassroots initiative promoting and celebrating works by and about CommsWomen and women’s diversity. Read more about the initiative and where this is coming from below. https://t.co/k0bLdECYdc
— Dr Martina Topic (@martina_topic) November 24, 2022
- Johanna Fawkes: New book (+ discount) (23 November)
‘My new book Depth Public Relations: After the Masquerade will be published by Routledge this December. It takes a cool look at PR’s contribution to the dominant culture, focussing on the climate crisis.’
#prstudent #CreatorAwards23
This section is open to any UK-based public relations student (or indeed, any UK-based student seeking a career in public relations). Simply tag your shareable content with #prstudent and it will be considered for inclusion here.
- Destiny Hollern (Sunderland): Putting the stun in stunts and camp in campaigns: The good, The bad and the bizarre (24 November)
‘There you have it: the weird and wonderful of gaming campaigns. At least give some of the entries kudos for creativity no matter how extreme it was. If you remember any campaigns that should have been an entry, follow the blogs Twitter and let me know!’
- Amie Cairns (Leeds Beckett):
@amiercairns pr vlogger yet? also i wrote prompts and stuff for my meeting although it was very casual:) #prstudent #pr #publicrelations #marketing #leedsstudent #publicrelationsagency B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All) – Eliza Rose & Interplanetary Criminal
